We’ve been hanging out so long now in Dartmouth that our transom is starting to show a small garden. But it is hard to leave. There is a long river to explore with several charming villages, lots to see in town, good restaurants, and for all the tourists about, Dartmouth and its environs have a pleasant ambiance.

The docks and moorings are extremely crowded, but not by the standards of the Solent a little further up the coast. And there is room to anchor. If you look hard you can see Wind Horse in the background just to the right of center.

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Every once in a while years of preparation and talent coincide with being in the right place at the right time and you get “lucky”. Such was the case a few days ago when Carol and Mike Parker were cruising in Tonga, and happened to be out on a whale watching boat. Carol is a gifted photographer with a feel for the medium second to none. Getting good photos underwater is unbelievably difficult, and submerged whale photos with detail almost impossible. This collection will make your day. To see Carol’s work check out her blog.

This is one of the compensations for cruising these waters. You see all sorts of wonderful old time vessels (and not a few good looking reproductions). As you may infer from the headline, we’ve been boat watching on the Dart River, a practice in place here for at least a couple of thousand years.

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We’ve been thinking about the advantages of British weather. For one thing, folks from the Pacific Northwest of the US feel right at home. Then there is the British penchant for high end foul weather gear which supports a plethora of suppliers and pays for R and D which benefits the rest of us.

History buffs may recall that the island geography and industrial revolution are credited with the push to create the British Empire. But we have a different theory.

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We’ve been using an induction cook top on Wind Horse the past six months in lieu of our propane stove. Between it and the microwave oven, propane consumption has been minimal, the oven being the only consumer now.

So how has this worked out?

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Scotland is not the type of place you’d expect to find the mega yacht crowd. But Le Grand Bleu has been hanging around enjoying the Scottish summer with us. From her AIS description she is 107 meters (350 feet) long and 18 meters (60 feet) wide. Enough room for lots of toys.

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When you’re trying to evaluate weather data – raw models like GFS or faxes from a forecaster – there is always an element of doubt. Just how accurate is the forecast?

An excellent source for real time data is the National Buoy Data Center – http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ where you will find not only US data but the rest of the world as well.

Take our recent experience coming down the Irish Sea.

There were two buoys we checked periodically. This one centered between Ireland and Wales in the UK, and another near Lands End at the bottom of the UK. The data above is for the most recent hour. Wind strength, wave height and period, and barometric pressure are of particular interest.

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Working your way south down the Irish Sea in late summer is not for the faint of heart nor those with an impatient nature. The winds tend to blow from the south, on the nose, and strong tidal currents guarantee stacked waves for a good chunk of each tidal cycle.

Wind Horse is certainly capable of dealing with these conditions, and making short work of the passage, but her crew has become soft in their dotage. Back in the olden days, say when we used to be sailors, we’d just shorten down and bang our way to windward, and get it over. If the wind was whipping the halyards, and the sea was pounding on the breakwater or barrier reef, we’d say “good sailing breeze.”

We don’t mind open ocean head seas, but when we are seeing twelve to fifteen foot (3.6 to 4.5m) waves with almost vertical faces, these days we prefer to wait.

The periods of relative calm around here are short. On the order of eight to twelve hours is what we have been seeing.

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The weather gods needed a breather and backed off the accelerator for half a day and we’ve scooted south with just fifteen to twenty knots of breeze on the nose. Early afternoon had us off Holyhead Harbor in Wales. Conditions were favorable to continue, but when we looked the Anglesey area up in the guidebook the words “Roman era fort” caught our eye.

Holyhead is protected by the largest breakwater in Europe, a huge mid-19th century structure, 2.4 km long which took 29 years to construct. There is a crowded mooring field, room to anchor (that’s us in the background) and a nice marina.

And the harbor is busy!

There are two dinghy clubs conducting summer youth training, classic sailing vessels, and yachts coming and going.

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Maybe we’ve been a little hard on the Scots about their weather. Can’t do much about it, so we have learned to ignore the wet and wind and enjoy the brief periods of sunshine.

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This being Scotland in summer, you expect the odd blow. But we are beset with foul weather. Southerly gale after gale, with lots of rain. However, we caught a break yesterday and awoke to momentarily blue skies and calm winds. We are on spring tides (when the moon and sun work together) so are seeing a bit of tidal current in spots. The photo above indicates SOG (speed over ground) of 17.5 knots. That’s 6.6 knots of positive current.

A few hours later, off the Mull of Kintyre, things were a bit more adverse.

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We’ve been hanging out in Tobermory, Scotland for the past week. If you have to sit in a town, this is a nice spot in which to do it. The anchorage is substantial, there is a marina, a mooring field, interesting shops ashore, and wifi at the dock. Tobermory is also an excellent base from which to explore the Isle of Mull.

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We are in the habit of watching the GFS weather model via Sailmail’s Saildocs offerings. This morning Hurricane Bill popped up. We’re not interested in the tropical phase but in seeing if it is forecast to transition to extra tropical structure.

The chart above is for 96 hours from now or 000Z on the 24th. Note that Nova Scotia and Newfoundland are in the path even though they are surrounded with cold water. No doubt those of you along the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S will be watching Bill closely.

The question we are concerned with here, about transition of the structure of the storm, will be based on what is going on at the 500mb and higher levels.

Now look at 120 hours from now.

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We’ve fitted riding sails on the backstays of many sailing designs (see our Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia for details), but have never thought of them in the context of a power boat. Until we came to Norway.

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Sometimes things which make no sense become more clear with experience. Take the small diameter low output windmills so often fitted to British cruising yachts. The small diameter blades take a lot of breeze to get meaningful output. Cruising in the tropics there is rarely enough wind to make these useful. The same would apply to the East or West Coasts of the US. But in Scotland, these are perfect (in other words, this is a windy place!).

The same applies to the Nauticat in the background. We used to think these were really a silly idea.

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There are some photos you just have to have: anchored in Cooks Bay, Moorea, with coconut palms and those famous spires in the background; the boat framed by a hole in a giant iceberg, and a haunted castle for background in the British Isles. OK, we are now three for three and can retire (just kidding).

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There is a strong case to be made for a second light weight rowing dink aboard. To begin with, it provides a backup if the outboard fails, or the inflatable is lost for some reason.

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Loch Moidart is the type of cruising destination we look for. Beautiful surroundings, history, and navigational challenges to keep us sharp. As you can see from the chart above (the blue line represents our track) this is not an easy entrance. Depths are in meters (we draw 1.5m/five feet) and our entrance is an hour after high water, so we have almost four meters (13 feet) of positive tide. We are entering after high water for two reasons. First, this puts the current on our bow which makes steering easier. Second, if we go aground there will be a higher tide the next cycle to float us off. Winds are calm (we would not try this the first time in a breeze).

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With the Fastnet Race (from Cowes, UK, around Fastnet rock off Ireland and back to Plymouth) starting this weekend we’ve been thinking about the 1979 Fastnet Race storm. This was a watershed event in terms of yacht design and heavy weather thinking.

We were well into our circumnavigation when we first heard rumors of this blow upon arrival in Durban, South Africa. Having gone through three days of gales south and west of Madagascar (in which several yachts were rolled but made it to port on their own) our first thought was the stories of abandoned yachts, sinkings, and death must have been exaggerated.

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Destinations like Lewrick in the Shetland Islands are great places to look at yachts. You have boats from all over the world, and the location insures that they have to be sea worthy to get there.

This French Integral 12.5 stood out amongst the more conservative cruising designs. She is like a small Open 60. Excessively beamy, with a wedge shaped hull, twin rudders, tilting keel, and daggerboards.

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We’ve made the leap from the Orkneys to Scotland. The various guide books and Admiralty Pilots make interesting reading for this territory, but they are definitely not for the faint of heart. Between currents, shallow sea beds, reflected waves, and open ocean swells this is considered one of the most dangerous stretches of water on the planet. Cape Wrath is aptly named.

Although our brief (just a hundred miles, nine hours) passage is without incident, we can see how this might be challenging. With modest currents (we are just off neaps) and no more than 20 knots of breeze on the nose there are six foot plus (1.8m) close coupled seas.

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There are usually seasonal patterns to weather, often associated with what is going on at the 500mb level. This is particularly true for areas like Cape Hatteras off the East Coast of the US, the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, and the Gulf of Alaska/Bering Sea region. It is also true for the eastern North Atlantic, the summer weather for which is usually dominated by the Azores High.

Except this year, as was the case last season, the Azores High is MIA. This has lead to lovely weather in Norway, but also to a succession of depressions forming around the British Isles. The fax segment above is typical of what we have been watching all summer.

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We are always in the lookout for new designs from the commercial end of seafaring. This oil rig standby vessel has a fascinating bow shape for working in the North Sea. Note how fine she is forward. There is none of the voluminous flare typically associated with commercial designs.

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We promised a few details on this lovely Danish schooner. As previously mentioned, she is a circa 1850s design fishing vessel, built in 1895 and lovingly restored by her present owner. She has moderate beam, balanced lines, and a powerful hull shape for carrying sail in the North Sea where it can be blustery (in the extreme).

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The longer you cruise, the more important crew protection becomes. This applies to cold and wet, and to sun.

Trade offs include:

• Access to running rigging and winches.
• Headroom inside.
• Sightlines from external helms over/through the cockpit cover.
• Heavy weather capability.
• Aesthetics (placed last for this discussion).

There are lots more details in our Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia. A few photos follow of different approaches observed in Lerwick, Shetland Islands.

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The sun is shining (doesn’t it always in the U.K?) and there is a large raft of cruisers (big and small) in Lerwick, the capital of the Shetland Islands. Dockage for yachts is at a premium and this time of year rafting is the norm.

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We’ve made the eighteen hour passage across the North Sea to the Shetland Islands (dodging oil rigs and survey vessels along the way), and are now enjoying Shetland hospitality.

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We’ve had a number of questions about the camera gear we use aboard Wind Horse. Shown above is what sees 98% of the action. We will describe the logic of these choices shortly, but first a comment on what you can get by with.

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We forgot to post this when we were in Svalbard and are sending it along now.

Longyearbyen is the administrative center for the Svalbard Islands. A former mining town, it is remaking itself as a tourist center and doing well. The “marina” consists of two floating docks, to which yachts raft in various formations. We’re rafted between Southern Star (a 1970s era maxi) and the Halberg Rassey 46 Indigo .

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We’re pointed south towards the Shetland Islands and Scotland. The plan is to top off our fuel tanks in Maloy, Norway, and then make the short hop (185 miles) to the U.K.

We are ahead of the normal cruising schedule with a majority of yachts going in the opposite direction. This provides a wonderful opportunity for boat watching, one of our favorite things to do. The vessel above is a Colin Archer design, formerly part of the Norwegian Rescue Service fleet.

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We thought we were done with the Svalbard Islands, but a combination of factors has delayed our departure.

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When we started thinking about heading north this summer one of the goals quickly became the Arctic ice pack and seeing if we could cross the magical 80 degree line of latitude. For most of the earth’s surface this is impossible due to ice. In many places you are doing well to even get to 70 degrees. But in Svalbard the end of the Gulf Stream keeps a sea lane open to the north in summer.

By 79.5 degrees we were starting to see small bits of ice and visibility was dropping due to intermittent fog. We slowed down, discussed turning around, and decided to wait and see if conditions would change for the better. In the meantime we had burritos for dinner. The ice chart from the previous day is bottom right in the photo. Svalbard is the gray area in the center of the chart. The colored areas represent various ice densities. Note how much further south the ice runs to the west (left).

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Magdalena Fjord is another magical anchorage. We are surrounded with glaciers, secure behind a sand spit from all but easterly (off the glacier) winds. Ice can be a problem, but we are fortunate in low densities right now. With perfect weather we decide to make this an official rest stop.

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We were checking out Lillihoekbreen, a fjord just northwest of Ny Alesund, looking for a nice background to photography Wind Horse. Just as we were about to launch the dinghy Joe spotted something white with black nose in the water.

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It is 0230 local time, and we are working our way into the fjord complex which is home to Ny Alesund. Low cloud and intermittent fog creates a forlorn look to the landscape.

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One of our objectives for Svalbard was to get within photographic distance of walrus. This fellow, and his mates, hang out at Princepynten Point in the Forland Sundet. The bottom shelves steeply, from 300 feet (90m) to 50 feet (15m) close to shore. Using our sonar we worked back and forth to get within camera range in light winds and a calm sea (we would not have done this in other than ideal conditions.

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At 2129 GMT Wind Horse crossed the 80th parallel after threading our way through relatively open pack ice. Returning now to more temperate latitudes. Photos and details to follow when we have more time to write.

We’re on the dock in Ny Alesund, at the mouth of Kongsfiord. At 79 degrees north this may be the closest town (150 or so inhabitants) to the North Pole. Formerly a mining town it is now a research center. Surrounded by immense glaciers, with parabolic antennae and abandoned mines, the scene is reminiscent of something out of Star Wars. We expect to find multi-headed characters when we visit the local bar.
Have had a busy few days trading inquisitive glances with walrus, fox, reindeer, and a variety of types of birds – but no polar bears yet.
Weather has been foggy and overcast (we backtracked 20 miles two days ago due to fog).
Yesterday the barometer started dropping and the wind switched to the south. We could not make this compute with the weather charts so decided to seek shelter until the barometer stabilized and we got a better handle on the risk factors.
Speaking of risk, we have to concentrate on not becoming complacent. Wind Horse is so comfortable, warm, and cozy, that it is easy to lose sight of where we are cruising. In this part of the world small problems can quickly become major, leading to unpleasant consequences. On the other hand, a bit of controlled risk adds spice to life.
We have lots of photos to share but not the band width to send them. Perhaps we will find an Internet Cafe ashore.

We are in Longyearbyen for 24 hours and able to upload photos. These will give you a feel for the visual impact of what we have been experiencing. All of these photos were taken within 24 hours between our visits to Hornsund and Bellesund.

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This 24 hour period started with blue sky and blinding sunlight. By early afternoon a mass of clouds had moved in. Five hours later and we had blue skies again.

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We were chased out of our anchorage this morning by a medium sized berg bearing down on our position. It was time to explore Hornsund anyway.
We cannot begin to describe how lovely Hornsund and its many glaciers looks under an azure sky. Then, to make things interesting, a modulating layer of clouds moves in. Within an hour we have a new series of vistas to entertain us as the clouds, mountains, and glaciers interact.
The GFS model, just downloaded, indicates a continuing fair trend, so we are moving north. Now that 77 degrees is under the keel why not 78, or more?.
There’s a fog bank offshore, but with minimal ice in this area (so far) the fog is not a concern.
We’ve been told that our mobile broadband system may work near the town of Longbearyen, so we will try and upload some photos and show you what we have been experiencing in the next day or two.

The anchor is down in Isbjornhamna, Hornsund, Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard (how’s that for a mouthful)surrounded with glaciers.
The approach was uneventful, no ice, good visibility. It is 2130 and the sun is shining brilliantly under blue skies. Going to shower, have a short sleep, and start exploring.
7/3/2009 7:31 PM (UTC) position 76

We’re 83 nautical miles from our way point outside of Hornesund. The light northeasterly breeze and calm seas have given way to a robust NW breeze of 20 knots. Waves are short and steep, albeit warm. Water temperature is an amazing 46.4F (8C).
In honor of being almost there a hearty breakfast has been consumed(spicy sausage, eggs with salsa, pineapple and kiwi fruit).
Last “night” – it is bright at 0130 – we saw a sail on the horizon and diverted course to check. Got some nice photos of a J-Boat beating with its high modulus main and jib. This is the first sailboat we’ve seen at sea since leaving California 15,000 miles ago. They looked beautiful, but cold.
We’ve been enjoying the abundance of bird life and the dolphin shows. The dolphins delight in doing aileron rolls. They must know there are two acro pilots in the audience.
7/3/2009 7:14 AM (UTC) position 75

We are half way to Spitzbergen. The wind has gone light and clocked to the ENE. Swells still on the nose with light wind waves crossing. Motion is barely perceptible. The GFS weather model is performing well and the lighter winds projected to our west have been realized. Wind speeds are a little underforecast, by three to five knots, but this is the norm for GFS. We are back on course for a waypoint 20 miles west of Hornesound.
Water temperature is hovering around 48F (10C) which is amazing considering we are at 73.15 north latitude!
Have backed off the RPMs a hair and are powering at 10.8 knots with half a knot of favorable current.
For a half way party we have had a lovely salad, eggplant parmigiana, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream. Have to build our supply of body fat for the frozen north.

We are getting our sea legs back after two months of mostly protected water cruising. Winds are as predicted at 15 knots from the north, on the nose of course. There is a slightly favorable current which steepens the waves. Have backed off the speed to 10 knots as we are carrying an extra 4 tons of fresh water (1000 gallons) because we expect the cold and salty ocean of Svalbard to reduce watermaker output and we have grown accustomed to nightly baths and hot showers.
Chocolate chip cookies are holding out and we are enjoying some extra sleep with a two hour on four off routine, one of the benefits of having our friend Joe Kutschka aboard.

—–
7/2/2009 6:46 AM (UTC) position 71°26.82’N 018°41.62’E spd 10.1 hdg 346T

We have an interesting tactical situation between the forecast change in the wind pattern and what is likely to happen with the sea ice clustered around the southeast of Spitzsbergen.
The wind is presently from due north. It is forecast to go light to the west in the next twelve to eighteen hours, but strengthen to the east and clock to the northeast. On a sailboat you always want so head into the header, and then tack on the shift. In this case it means adjusting course to the ENE until the wind switches (if it does) and then changing tack to head right at the south end of the island.
The ice poses a problem with this tactic. The prolonged period of north winds will shift some of the ice south, and the current may carry it around the bottom of Spitzsbergen and up the west coast towards the north. It could block Hornesound, or at least make it necessary to give the bottom of the island a wide berth.
With Wind Horse we are taking a different approach. We are sagging to the west 20 degrees to head towards the projected area of lighter winds. This is more comfortable and efficient, if the wind does lighten. This course also keeps us more clear of any of the sea ice which has drifted south. We will approach the coast from the west, and if we run into ice, be able to skirt the edge and head further north to (hopefully) clear water.
At present we have 14 to 20 knots of breeze and five to eight foot (1.5 to 2.4m) waves. Not ideal, but it is what we are designed to deal with

Wind Horse is on her way north and we are excited to be at sea again. Weather news is good and bad. Northerly ten to 20 is the forecast, so on the nose. But north winds are cold, which means less fog mixed with ice which is good.
—–
7/1/2009 10:13 PM (UTC) position 70°06.55’N 019°37.05’E spd 10.2 hdg 347T

Ice and geography herd cruising yachts headed to Svalbard into Tromso this time of year. It is always interesting to meet the folks headed for adventure and exchange visits. Allain, the owner of the yacht above, was our dock mate for a few days. He has covered the same territory in Greenland, Labrador, and Newfoundland as we have.

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The Tromso waterfront is a hive of yachting activity, with fifteen or so yachts making preparations to depart for Svalbard. On Wind Horse we’ve been busy with provisioning, working with the arms race, and a few last minute systems checks. With departure day drawing near we hiked up to the Norwegian Met Service office to get a feel for ice and weather conditions in the near future, and to learn more about how the Met Service professionals do their jobs.

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One of the risk (and reward) factors of cruising in Svalbard is the presence of polar bears – 1500 of them – in the area. They are at the top of the food chain, and have no fear of humans, not even groups of humans. They are far more dangerous than Alaskan grizzlies.

Everyone we have met who is Svalbard savvy has stressed the need to be careful, even to the point of checking the deck before opening the main door.

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Torejorn is a commuter plane pilot. He flies twin engine turboprops for the local airlines. Flights are short, often just eight minutes. The 38 passenger -8 Bombardier he flies is STOL equipped, and often lands on 800 meter (1/2 mile) strips with terrain “issues”. This is not a boring job folks.

Torejorn came by to have a look at Wind Horse and we were happy to trade his questions about cruising with our queries about flying in Norway.

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Being tied to a dock is a trade-off. It is uncomfortable being in the public eye, but that is compensated by making it easier to meet locals. They are interested in you and your boat, and it provides chance to learn about your host country, and make some good friends. Occasionally unsettling facts come to light.

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We’ve moved Wind Horse a short distance across the harbor to where we are not so much on display. This makes our outboard topside eligible for rafters, which we usually enjoy. Especially when it is a 1927 vintage converted Norwegian fishing boat.

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We’re ensconced in Tromso, known in Norway as the “Paris of the North”. We’re not sure about the comparison, but this could be our favorite Norwegian city

Tromso is very much a college town, with a large teaching hospital, a variety of restaurants, and numerous interesting museums.

Being located at almost 70 degrees latitude it is also, appropriately, a center for polar research.

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Enough of these protected waters already. Lets stick our nose out into the North Atlantic and see what the west coast of the Vestralen Islands are like. After more than a month of calm seas, it feels really good to have Wind Horse moving a little under our feet. And as you will see, this little visited area does not disappoint.

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Even cloudy and wet days have something to catch the eye. The following photos were taken a few days ago, on an otherwise unremarkable day. Low clouds, drizzle, and rain. We were shooting with the camera enclosed in a rain hood.

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Steve:

Your note brings up a question that I assume many people would have. You mentioned insurance (notice I am not fretting over the family worrying issue) and I was curious how you handle insurance on an ongoing basis. Are you buying on an ocean by ocean basis with specific riders if you venture “too far north?” what to such riders cost or more to the point if you were to average your insurance costs over the 4000 hours you have traveled, what are you paying per hour, or per year? I would imagine the design of the boat brings these costs down as does your experience, but I am curious.

Thank you.

Your blog continues to be a great source of diversion and jealousy

All my best

Scott

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A big influence on our cruising last year and this has been Jaja and Dave Martin’s book, Into the Light . Ever since we first read it we’ve been captured by the images conjured up by their wonderful descriptions of Norway, Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland, and Scotland.

Wrestling with the decision on where to go next we decided to reread this wonderful book.

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Today has been a day of firsts for Wind Horse and crew. Hence this celebratory afternoon desert while underway heading north.

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If you have raced sailing dinghies you know that bow down trim is fast in light air (going slow) and stern down (within reason) is the mode for breezy conditions. The same rules apply to larger sailboats and displacement power boats.

The Norwegian trawler in the photo above has quite a broad stern, so it will benefit more from this approach than would be the case with a fine rear end.

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In each cruising area we look for one perfect photo – a balance of content, color, contrast, clouds, sky, and water – which creates a heightened emotional response for us (or you might say evokes a major buzz) and reminds us of what we loved about that part of the world. Eventually it may end up on a wall in the house, the equivalent of a hunter’s mounted trophy head.

This morning, when the sky was unusually clear, with a hint of cumulous clouds to come, we broke camp in search of a prize catch.

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We are starting to think about where to head next this summer. From this part of Norway (68 degrees north latitude) we could easily continue north and east to Russia, north two days to Svalbard, or east three days to Iceland. We could also head south and spend a leisurely couple of months in Scotland and maybe the west coast of Ireland.

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The last 24 hours have been a good example of one of the attractions for us in the higher latitudes. It is the contrasts you experience visually and with weather. The morning starts out with a trek to that lovely beach we showed you yesterday.

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We’ve found a hidden Norwegian paradise, just five miles east of Svolvaer. This could easily be an island in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. The beach, rocks, and vegetation (sans cactus) are right in line with what you’d expect just south of the US border. We are just shy 45 degrees F (24C) of temperature to make the picture perfect.

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Svolvaer has taken us by surprise. It is a big city (relatively speaking) with four thousand inhabitants, a real estate boom around the harbor, and a variety of specialty stores including outdoor sports, marine chandlery, and electronics. There are cafes and restaurants, and most important, high speed wifi on the dock. In short a great place to stop for few days and take care of things.

In our brief stay in Svolvaer we have met some fascinating Norwegians.

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We are used to covering lots of territory when we move. In high latitude summer, with constant visibility, we will often put in 200 miles during a day hop. But there is so much to see in this part of the world we have recently slowed down, the better to appreciate our surroundings.

Take the “passages” of the last two days.

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We’ve had several questions about interpreting the sonar images. So we sent a couple of photos to our sonar guru, Steve Bradburn at Furuno, and asked him for a clarification.

Steve marked up our photo to show the correct interpretation.

And then sent the following comments.

Hi Steve:

It is kind of hard to explain. Sonars have a really difficult time giving accurate depth at shallow tilt angles because how the beam spreads and bounces away (instead of back to) the sonar. Also even in the bottom is pretty flat the sonar will show a rising bottom at the edge of the display.

Regards,

Steve Bradburn
Furuno USA, Inc.

There have been several questions about prop nozzles since we posted the photos of this Norwegian trawler. So, to get the most up-to-date information we asked naval architect and propeller expert, Ed Hagemen, for his experience with these.

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The barometer is sitting on 1017mb and a compression gale is whistling about us at anchor. So once again we have time to catch up with photos and comments on cruising the Lofoten Islands.

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We’ve been anchored at the head of a four mile long fiord which runs in a north/south direction. This means that we have a long fetch for the southerly quadrant winds accompanying today’s cold front to work up a bit of chop.

But it is not the waves which have us concerned. It is the rocky lee shore against which we are now backed up. Even though the anchor is set hard, we prefer a more protected situation. If the breeze stays in the mid-twenty knot range, as forecast, we are OK here. But at these latitudes, with the surrounding terrain occasionally mixing stronger winds aloft with surface winds, we decide to investigate the other two arms of this short fiord complex.

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There is a Norwegian cruising conundrum to which we have yet to find the answer.

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We are somewhat behind in our posts, and wanted to get in a few words about Alesund even though it is a week in our wake.

Alesund is our favorite “big” Norwegian town (so far). The harbor area is extremely tight, barely enough room to turn Wind Horse around, and high on the fun meter with 25 knots of wind blowing straight down the channel.

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Reine is dramatic in any light, but when the sun is shining and there are a few clouds for contrast, the visual meter spikes.

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Reine is high up on our list of best places to dock a boat. The town is scenic, surrounding mountains’ spectacular, and best of all, this town still earns its living from the sea.

The cod fishery is fascinating.

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We’ve crossed the Arctic Circle (note the latitude above for official confirmation), setting three personal records in the process. The first record is earliest crossing. Most years by May 18th we are happy to be at 56.5 degrees. And here we are ten degrees closer to the pole.

The second record is warmest water. The 49.6F looks toasty, but a few hours previous we were in a gyre with 55F (13C).

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